Fernhawk GamesFreeCell is a solitaire with no hidden cards and very little luck. Every card is face up from the start, so winning comes down to planning your moves in the right order.
How to play
The goal is to move all 52 cards to the four home piles, ace first and then up to king, one pile for each suit.
All the cards are dealt face up into eight columns. The four free cells in the top left are small parking spaces, and each holds a single card at a time.
- In the columns, place a card on one that is one rank higher and the opposite color: a black 5 on a red 6. Only the bottom card of a column can be moved on its own.
- Moving several cards: you can lift an ordered run, but only as many cards as your open cells and empty columns allow. The more empty spaces you have, the longer the run you can carry. The game will not accept a move that is too long.
- Free cells hold one card each. Use them for a card you need to get out of the way, and empty them again soon.
- Empty columns accept any card or run.
- Home piles: a card that goes home stays there, and the game will send obvious cards home for you when it is safe.
On a phone, tap a card to send it to the best spot: home first, then a column, then a free cell. Or drag a card where you want it. On a computer, click or drag with the mouse. Undo is free, and Hint suggests a move.
The levels
On this site the levels change how many free cells you may use.
- Easy: four free cells, the classic game.
- Medium: three free cells.
- Hard: two free cells, so long runs need empty columns.
- Expert: one free cell, where every move counts.
The site checked a pile of deals with a solving program. Out of 2,000 deals, a win was found for 1,980 with four cells, 1,923 with three, 1,480 with two and 338 with one. Each level deals only from the ones found winnable at that level, so a new deal always has a solution. The Expert list is much shorter, which tells you how tight one free cell is.
Today's game
The daily game is an Easy deal. Everyone who plays on the same calendar day gets the same eight columns.
Tips
- Before you move anything, look at where the aces and twos sit. Cards buried under many others need planning first.
- Keep your free cells empty whenever you can. A full set of cells ends the game.
- Try to empty a column early. An empty column is worth more than a free cell because it can hold a whole run.
- Do not fill an empty column with a card you cannot easily move later.
- Work on one color at a time. Build a column from the bottom of a deep pile and look at what the cards beneath it need.
- Use Undo to test a plan. When a line leads nowhere, go back and try the other order.
- On Hard and Expert, count the empty spaces before you try to lift a long run.
A bit of history
FreeCell is part of the patience family, but it stands out because, in the usual form with four cells, nearly every deal can be won.
Questions
Can I take a card back from the home piles? No. As in the classic game, a card that goes home stays home.
Why won't the game let me move this run? The run is longer than your free cells and empty columns allow. Empty a cell or a column and try again.
Does the game play cards home without asking? Only when it is clearly safe, meaning the cards that could still use that card in a column are already home.
Are all deals winnable? Every new deal here comes from a list where a win was found, so yes. Whether you find that win is a different matter.